1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, and, more particularly, to a retractable media support for an imaging apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art.
An imaging apparatus may be in the form of a printer, or a multifunction machine, also known as an all-in-one (AIO) machine, which includes scanning and copying capabilities in addition to printing.
The print engine of the printer or the AIO may include, for example, an ink jet print engine that typically forms an image on a sheet of print media by ejecting ink from at least one ink jet printhead to place ink dots on the sheet of print media. Such an ink jet print engine typically includes a reciprocating printhead carrier. Mounted to the carrier is one or more printhead cartridges, each including an ink supply and at least one printhead. The carrier transports the ink jet printheads across the sheet of print media along a bi-directional scanning path defining a print zone of the print engine. The bi-directional scanning path is oriented parallel to a main scan direction, also commonly referred to as the horizontal direction.
Typically, a sheet of print media is picked from a stack of print media supported in a media tray, and transported by a feed roller to the print zone for printing. An indexing mechanism drives the feed roller to incrementally advance the sheet of print media in a sheet feed direction, also commonly referred to as a sub-scan direction, through the print zone between scans in the main scan direction, or after all data intended to be printed on the sheet of print media at a particular stationary position has been completed.
The current trend in the imaging industry, as a whole, is to reduce the overall size of the imaging apparatus, while including as many features as reasonably possible.